SX Ballast Question

[Ktown]

I'm not sure I want to try to seal all the places the water would leak.  I'm guessing it is leaking from the back of the ballast tank, in to the hull and then from the places I found in to the bilge.  It would also be tough to get the weight balanced, if I don't know how much is in there and where it might go.  I would rather find a way to seal the tank itself.  Is it possible to spray some type of sealer through the level indicator (which is about a 4 inch diameter).  Would it make more sense to cut a larger hole in the top of the tank, fix the problem, and then install an access door (in case I need to open it up again later).  Thanks again for the help.

[Ktown]

This would be the plan

1. Cut a 8" hole to access the ballast tank (I hope that would be big enough to work through).

2. Repair the leak with marine-tex

3. Cover the 8" hole with this deck plate - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000AXVEZ/ref=ord_cart_shr/002-6852550-9009641?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=A1KF2V3FQHNS87&v=glance

4. Invite everyone to my boat to watch the water in the ballast splash around!

Can you guys run a sanity check on this before I order the parts and start cutting the hole?  The project would only cost about $35.00.  Any better ideas?

[westtx]

I'll be happy to bring my saw to Lake Travis next month!

[wakejunky]

Be careful where you cut!!!!! Like I had stated on another post there are internal stringers inside the ballast tanks. They are as tall as the tanks. So, be very careful you have a very good chance of cutting into a stringer. they are two separate stringers in each tank, they are staggered, they are about 3" wide and are roughly in the center of the tanks. As you get toward the v drive compartments the second stringer starts and is further outboard then the first. In the other post I showed a rough pic of how they are layed out.

I would reconsider capt rick's idea or maybe enlarge the small drain hole to fix the leak. I personally would go with rick's idea adding a couple inches of ballast isnt going to be that noticeable.

[Ktown]

wakejunky,

I guess I don't fully understand what Capt Rick wanted me to seal.  I assumed he meant near the bilge, where the water is draining in to the bilge (although it was draining on the opposite side as the leaky tank, due to the slant of the road I was parked on).  Wouldn't that allow the hull of my boat to fill with water, with no way out?  Is that where you would seal it?  I was planning on searching around the hole that the level sender is in.  Would you be able to see the stringers from inside the tank, or are they between the tank and the floor?  Also, is the floor of the boat actually the top of the tank?  From what I remembered, there wasn't a space between the two.  I will look for your post and check the pics. 

Thanks

[Ktown]

Okay, I found your thread and a few others dealing with the leaky SX ballast tanks.  I definitely don't want to seal the drain to the bilge, but would love to figure out a way to seal the tank without causing any major problems.  I ordered two Fly High fat sacs that I plan to run in the locker and bow for now.  Wakejunky, did you switch to bags?  It sounded like you were getting rid of all your ballast components, so I assume you went to the manual method? 

[westtx]

I think they make gas tank liners for leaky fuel tanks (diesel?) Not sure if these would work or whether you could get them in your ballast tanks...just a thought

[wakejunky]

My bad, I thought the water was coming from the side that was leaking. I would not patch the bilge drain hole either. If you could only determine where the leak was from you could possibly remove the fuel tank and add a second ballast access plate on the bilge wall close to the leak. Yes, the floor is the top of the tank. Wow, that really sucks.

As for mine, my tanks are good. I'm still using them. I just changed how they filled and drained. It was way to slow for me so I added fill and drain pumps for each tank as well as automated fly high sacks in the lockers and walkthrough. It now fills and drains in less than 5 minutes. Its completely automated except for hooking up the walkthrough bag to its auto plumbing.

[Ktown]

Well, I am not as excited as I was about cutting holes right now, so maybe I will save this for some discussion at the Texas round-up in July.  I also don't want to try to install a bladder.  The stringers make me nervous, so my previous plan may not be the best bet.  I would love to get my hands on one of those cable style camera's, so I could actually look for the leak.  Too bad they don't make stop leak for this!  I bought two v-drive fly high bags and the associated pump and they worked like a champ.  I put one of the sacs in the back and one in the front and the wake was great.  Not only was it a great wake, it also was constant (no leak).  The fly high sacks are actually very easy to operate and take less time than the plumbed system.  I may actually order one more sac to get to 1,000lbs. 

Wakejunky - sounds like you have the perfect system.  Maybe someday I will fix my tanks and convert to a system similar to yours.  Thanks again for the help and if anybody dreams-up a way to fix my tank, let me know. 

[flyn2001]

Dude....that blows!!!  I can't believe your ballast system is leaking!  You could always hook it up like the X22 system.  Mine is a bag!  Just set it up so the Fill/Drain switch is on your dash.


On another note...has anyone here ever upgraded the bag in their X22.  I would like to get a bigger bag (I think mine is ~600 lbs stock).  Does fly high have one that will fit in our trunk that holds more?  I don't want to put any out in the open...I prefer all my seats/walk ways open.  Thanks.

[Ktown]

Check-out Wakeside, they have all the models on the site.  Almost anything will fit back there.  You can also have them custom make you one to exact measurment on the space.  However, I would recommend buying a 400lb sack (the v-drive size) and putting it in the bow walkway.  That woud give you about 1,000lbs of ballast and would help your boat plane-out.  I think most people would recommend having some ballast in the forward part of the boat.  It helps shape the wake better.  I can show you my set-up this weekend.  It's nice, because it is kinda like having a bow cushion (waterbed style).

On a seperate note - has anyone tried using a slosher compound/sealer?  They use a sloshing compound called Randolph 912 on metal and fiberglass fuel tanks in small civilian aircraft.  It may not be made for this type of application, but may be a way to seal it in liquid form, keeping me from having to get to the leak (physically).

[Capt Rick]

One repair of a port ballast tank,  I found the stringer on the port side cracked, it allowed the water to leak out of the sealed area to the bow area. Upon cutting out the floor and repairing the crack glass. It seems to have worked. Est repair was alot. To find it, I used a 10 foot plumbing bore -scope with light. Saw bubbles of air coming into sealed ballast tank......Therefor try filling from the hole where the water is draining. To determine how much water it holds. Drill in floor to see where it goes.

2. Could not find leak, removed ballast from boat..

[cyclone]

Because the below floor ballast system is so unique (for the time) and works so well (except for fill/drain times) I would jump through a lot of hoops to fix a leak in mine. That would include all of the above, cutting holes in the floor, cutting the liner in the trunk, whatever. It's just fiberglass, it can be fixed so you can't see it, even if you went in from the outside (I'm not recommending that!)

I have heard of leaks caused by freezing water when the ballast would not empty, i.e. bad solenoid valve. That should be a Toyota warrantee issue, since the tanks are part of the hull/stringer, they should be covered under the lifetime hull warrantee IMHO. You can always pull a line off the tank and drain it. I don't think this procedure is covered in the official winterization procedure in the Toyota owners manual.....

[flyn2001]

Cyclone....

Please specify IMHO.  Also, are you saying that our boats still have warranties?  This is info that I would be most interested in knowing!!  Thanks.

[cyclone]

If you are the original owner, you have a lifetime hull warrantee.

IMHO means In My Humble Opinion in geek speak.

IIRC means If I Remember Correctly

It took me a while to figure that out, don't feel bad;)